An Analysis of Gamal Abdul Nasser and the Egyptian Revolution of 1952

This report delves into the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, examining the pivotal role of Gamal Abdul Nasser and the Free Officers Movement. It explores the historical context, including the Kingdom of Egypt under British protection, the reign of King Farouk, and the British control of the Suez Canal. The report analyzes key events such as the Battle of El Alamein, the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the formation of the Free Officers Movement. It also discusses the impact of the 1948 war (Al Nakba), the emergence of Mohammed Naguib, the Cairo fire of 1952, the rise of Arab nationalism, the Suez Crisis, and the unity between Syria and Egypt. The report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the revolution, its key figures, and its lasting impact on Egypt and the Arab world, while also addressing the uncertainties and doubts surrounding the revolution and Nasser's leadership.

Running Head: JAMAL ABDUL NASSER AND THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION.
Jamal Abdul Nasser and the Egyptian Revolution.
Name of the Student:
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Author Note

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JAMAL ABDUL NASSER AND THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION.
Table of Contents
Kingdom of Egypt during the British protection.......................................................................3
Egypt during the reign of King Farouk..................................................................................3
British control of the Suez Canal.......................................................................................3
Battle of El Alamein...........................................................................................................3
Muslim Brotherhood Movement and its leader Hassan Al Banna.....................................4
Free Officers Movement........................................................................................................4
Al Nakba , The 1948 War......................................................................................................5
Establishment of the Free Officers Movement led by Mohammed Naguib......................5
The establishment of the so-called Israel and the Arabs anger towards their leaders........5
The Egyptian Revolution led by the Free Officers Movement..................................................5
The emerge of Mohammed Naguib as a leader.....................................................................5
Egyptians discontent..............................................................................................................6
Cairo fire 1952...................................................................................................................6
Arab Nationalism...............................................................................................................6
The rise of Gamal Abdul Nasser to power.............................................................................6
Suez Crisis..........................................................................................................................6
Unity between Syria and Egypt..........................................................................................7
Works Cited...............................................................................................................................8

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JAMAL ABDUL NASSER AND THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION.
Kingdom of Egypt during the British protection
During the period from 1882 to 1914, British Government enjoyed their control over
Egypt at the absence of any legal authority. Egypt had been a land of fascination for the
imperialist; however, it did not cause any kinds of benefits to the Egyptian until the advent of
international tourism.
Egypt during the reign of King Farouk
British control of the Suez Canal
Muhammad Ali Pasha, after gaining his control of Egypt attracted international
market as well as foreign investors with his implementations. This trend of foreign trade was
continued by his successors who approved the plan of Britain and France to create the Suez
Canal, a man made canal that would act as a significant shipping route in the world. Egypt
experienced a momentary flourish in trades for a few years after the creation of Suez Canal
(Aljefri et al.). However, the lavish expenditure of the government, bankrupted the treasury
of the country. It resulted in Britain buying its entire share that has been invested in the canal.
Egypt slipped into debt as the cash influx was not sufficient to mitigate the purchase. As a
result the debt of the country increased, giving rise to Civil War.
Battle of El Alamein
The 8th British Army, led by Neil Ritchie moved from Gazal to Eastward into the
north-western part of Egypt. El Alamein can be noted for its railway station, which was
situated beside the coast. The battle of El Alamein is noted for the beginning of World War 2
as the British army went into a conflict with the Axis forces. An infantry attack was
unleashed on El Alamein on October of 1942 by the British force. The battle had continued
for 10 days and it ended with an allied victory with Rommel, the German general retreating

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JAMAL ABDUL NASSER AND THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION.
to escapee the annihilation. The characteristic of the battle is similar to the World War 1 in
terms of the methodical approach and the usage of artillery (Borthwick).
Muslim Brotherhood Movement and its leader Hassan Al Banna
Hassan al-Banna had formed the Muslim Brother in 1928 with a vision of initiating
social movement with Islamist religious and political approach. Though the vision and the
ideology of this group had experienced a massive spread, it was primarily located in Egypt.
In Egypt, the organization had maintained its stronghold for a significant period and
established itself as a strong oppositional political power. The organization succeeded in
maintaining its position of influence in Egypt despite the fact that the country had
experienced significant crackdowns in the years of 1948, which continued until 1954 and
then flowing into 1965 (Wickham). After the revolution of 2011, the group achieved its legal
status and formed a civic political party under the name ‘Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt)’.
Free Officers Movement
Free officers comprised of a group of Egyptian nationalist from the armed forces of
Sudan and Egypt who instigated the 1952 Egyptian Revolution. It initiated as military cell of
rebellion, which operated to lead the movement of junior officials. The Great Depression
after the World War 1 affected the global economy including those of Sudan and Egypt. As a
result of political instability the government started removing institutions which instigated the
political groups to form resistance against these parliamentary politics. Military groups were
affected by such withdrawal of institutions (Lang and Anthony). The revolution of Free
officers in Egypt in 1952 paved the way for other movements. Nasser who had witnessed the
corruption in the government retaliated against the imperialism within the Egyptian border
(Abou‐El‐Fadl).

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JAMAL ABDUL NASSER AND THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION.
Al Nakba , The 1948 War
Establishment of the Free Officers Movement led by Mohammed Naguib.
Mohammad Naguib was endowed with the responsibility of leading the revolution of
1952. The British control within Egypt had led to the agitation, which resulted into several
revolts. Among the unorganized Egyptian nationalist groups that were unorganized and
divided among them in their opinion, military was the .sole organized group capable of
leading the revolution. King Farouk was forced to give up his throne as the revolutionaries
marched to Cairo demonstrating the need for social justice and reforms.
The establishment of the so-called Israel and the Arabs anger towards their leaders.
The .success of Free officers movement, inspired the nationalist officers at Iraq to
refer to themselves by the same name. The group retaliated against the pro-British
government. Said and Faisal, two pro-British leader of the Iranian government was killed in
the revolution.
The Egyptian Revolution led by the Free Officers Movement.
The emerge of Mohammed Naguib as a leader
Naguib had exhibited equal contribution in the Free Officers Movement alongside of
Nasser. As young officers led the Free Officer groups, Nasser had asked Naguib to take the
lead in the movement. There are debates regarding his position as it is argued that his position
has contributed credibility to the group that was essential at the time of the revolution. He
was later appointed as the first president of Egypyt.

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JAMAL ABDUL NASSER AND THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION.
Egyptians discontent
Cairo fire 1952
The Cairo Fire is considered as a reaction of the people of Egypt as they protested
against the killing 50 police officers in Islamia by the British troops. The crowd who had set
750 buildings on fire and looted shops, theatres and restraunts headed this riot of ‘Black
Saturday’. Though the figures who had played substantial role in the riot remained unknown,
26th January, 1952 was seen as a doom days of Egypt (El-Kazaz).
Arab Nationalism
One of the primary philosophy of Arab nationalism lies in its retaliation against the
Western influence. The rise of Arab Nationalism can be attributed to the Egyptian leader
Nasser. He had advocated that the Arab League framework should include the security pact
as well. It was primarily done to free the economy from its dependency on Israel and British
bases in Arab nations. However, US promoted this rise in the ideals of Arab nationalism as a
threat to communism. Religion was kept separated from the ideals of nationalism. This was in
conflict of the ideals, which emphasized on the importance of Islam as a contributor to the
glorious past of the Arab worlds.
The rise of Gamal Abdul Nasser to power
Suez Crisis
Canal nationalization was considered as a threat by the shareholders of Suez Canal,
UK and France. Nasser had anticipated the international crisis and military intervention,

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JAMAL ABDUL NASSER AND THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION.
which was likely to proceed the nationalization (McDermott). Political turmoil involving the
Suez Canal led to formation of a secret agreement between Israel, France and UK. The attack
by the Israeli force was unleased on Egyptian posts (Gerges). Nasser had ordered a
withdrawal of army to increase the resistance on canal. He had also ordered to block the canal
by dismantling approximately fifty ships that lined the coast. Nasser’s reputation remained
intact in Egypt despite of the defeat suffered by Egyptian troupes. The failure of the British
invasion instigated the enhancement of Nasser’s political position (Gorst).
Unity between Syria and Egypt
Strength of the Pan-Arab sentiment and its strong base on the traditional ground,
where Nasser was an eminent political figure. His image as leader was boosted by after the
Suez war. Nasser was reluctant to form a union with Syria because of the fear of Communist
takeover. Syria had increased their effort in order to unite with Egypt after the Syrian Crisis
(Roberts). Though at the initial level, Nasser resisted extensive union, extensive advocacy on
the part of Salah al-Din Bitar escalated the process of forming an Egypt Syria union. Nasser
came to a non-negotiable terms with the union where he emphasized on the removal of army
from the political domain.

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JAMAL ABDUL NASSER AND THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION.
Works Cited
Abou‐El‐Fadl, Reem. "Early pan‐A rabism in E gypt's July revolution: the Free Officers'
political formation and policy‐making, 1946–54." Nations and Nationalism 21.2
(2015): 289-308.
Aljefri, Yasir M., et al. "Misperception in nationalization of the Suez Canal." 2016 IEEE
International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC). IEEE, 2016.
Borthwick, Alastair. Battalion: A British infantry unit's actions from the battle of El Alamein
to the Elbe, 1942-1945. Vertebrate Publishing, 2014.
El-Kazaz, Sarah. "A City Consumed: Urban Commerce, the Cairo Fire, and the Politics of
Decolonization in Egypt." (2013): 231-235.
Gerges, Fawaz A. "The 1967 Arab-Israeli War: US Actions and Arab Perceptions." The
Middle East and the United States. Routledge, 2018. 139-157.
Gorst, Anthony, and Lewis Johnman. The Suez Crisis. Routledge, 2013.
Lang Jr, Anthony F. "From revolutions to constitutions: the case of Egypt." International
Affairs 89.2 (2013): 345-363.
McDermott, Anthony. Egypt from Nasser to Mubarak (RLE Egypt): A Flawed Revolution.
Routledge, 2013.
Roberts, David. The Ba'th and the Creation of Modern Syria (RLE Syria). Routledge, 2013.
Wickham, Carrie Rosefsky. The Muslim Brotherhood: Evolution of an Islamist Movement-
Updated Edition. Princeton University Press, 2015.